Week 17 August 27th

ALL THOSE HOLDING TROPHIES FROM LAST SEASON CAN THEY BE RETURNED ASAP

What a difference the weather makes, from last week’s high scores to this weeks struggles where the top score was 13 and only two players hitting a six. All Sections still need to be decided and are all up for grabs so it will all be decided on the last night of the season. The Premier Section has been whittled down to holders The White House and leaders The New Club ‘A’ who hold a one-point advantage but lost at The Swan 2-1. New Club set the opening leg with some mixed throwing which included a blob and a six in their 25 total. Swan responded well and just sneaked over the line with 26. Swan then set an imposing 29 in the second leg which deflated The New Club who could only reply with 18. Swan set the final leg with 24 and this time New Club upped their game and hit an impressive 30 in reply to give them a crucial point. Luke Purcell starred with 13 dolls (6-2-5) for The New Club.

White House are determined to hold onto their crown however they dropped a valuable point away at Garsington Sports Club. It started off well for The White House when they easily won the first two legs 27-19, 24-12 however they wobbled in the final leg and could only set 18. Garsington took full advantage and hit 21 to claim their only sixth point of the season, how crucial was this slip up we will find out next week.

Black Horse ‘A’ hold a three-point advantage at the top of Section One following their unexpected 3-0 win against visitors Littlemore British Legion ‘C’ in a low scoring encounter. Chasing a set of 20 in the first leg Black Horse galloped passed that with 24. Second leg Black Horse set a beatable 21, however Legion struggled the whole leg and fell well short with 16. Black Horse set the final leg with 22 and once again Legion struggled even more and could only reply with a gloomy 13 to leave Black Horse needing just one point from their last game to be crowned champions.

Littlemore British Legion ‘A’ are hanging in there waiting for any slip ups from The Horse following their 3-0 home win against Ampleforth Arms however it could have been a completely different result if was not for the Legions tail pulling them out of the dire situations they found themselves in. It was straight forward for the Legion in the opening leg which they won 23-17. The second leg Ampleforth set with 23 and a slow response from the Legion left their last two players needing 10 to win. Fred Sawyer clanged off a four-leaving anchorman Kevin Stuart needing all six to win and he nearly pulled it off falling just one short with five to send it to three sticks, which the Legion won. Ampleforth set again in the final leg this time with 20 and again Legion struggled leaving the tail to wag again with 13 dolls between their last three players to give them a total of 24 and with-it maximum points. Fred Sawyer hit a steady dozen dolls (4-4-4) for The Legion while Dave Simms (3-5-4) did likewise for The Amp.

Masons Arms ‘A’ had a comfortable night at home to Yarnton British Legion winning all three legs 22-19, 19-16, 21-12. Dave Behan & Mark Poulter hit 11 dolls (4-3-4) for the Legion while Chris Webb (2-4-5) was Masons top scorer with 11 dolls.

SECTION 2
Section 2 is going down to the wire with the top two teams meeting next week. Leaders by one-point Black Horse ‘B’ dropped a crucial point away at Rose Hill Club and it could easily have been more in a long night. The first two legs were tied 15-15 with both teams winning a leg each on three sticks. Final and deciding leg Rose Hill set 16. A good solid start by Black Horse saw them over the line with ease hitting 21 to claim the leg and game.

Six Bells ‘C’ produced good team throwing in their 3-0 win against visitors Queens Head ‘A’ and put them in good stead for next week’s showdown. Bells won all three legs 14-11, 26-17, 21-14. Jack Lane the only player hitting double figures with 10 (3-5-2).

Cowley Workers second half of the season continues to wane as they lost their eighth consecutive game this time at home to WADs Bar. It started off well for the Workers winning the opening leg 17-16. WADs bar set the second leg with 17 and in reply Workers just needed two from their anchorman to go two up, however he blobbed out to allow WADs bar to level the game. Workers set the deciding leg with 18. WADs reply was slow, and they left anchorman Harry Tilling needing four to win and he was up to the task by going one better clanging off five dolls to give them a total of 20 and with it the leg and game. Ian Sharp for WADs was top dog with a dozen dolls (4-5-3).

Duke Of Monmouth won their third game on the bounce beating visitors Donnington Club ‘B’ 2-1 in the leg scores of 18-17, 11-16, 21-15. Philip Cassidy for Donnington bagged himself a six in his 11-doll haul.
Blackbird versus The Tandem is being played next Monday.

SECTION 3
Three teams are still fighting for the Section 3 title with New Club ‘B leading the way following their 3-0 win at home to Littlemore British Legion ‘B’ who still languish at the foot of the table. It was a straightforward win for the leaders winning all three legs 21-11, 15-9, 21-12.

Cricketers dropped a leg at Red Lion Yarnton and fall two points behind the leaders. They won the opening leg by the smallest of margins 11-10 and were then west 19 in the second leg. This proved to be too much for The Cricketers as they could only reply with nine dolls. Final leg Cricketers set with 16 which was more than enough as the Lion could only return a total of 11 to give the Cricketers the leg and game.

Masons Arms ‘B’ title hopes diminished when they crashed away at Queens Head ‘B’ who had been on a five-game losing streak. A disastrous start by The Masons cost them as they could only set 9 in the opening leg, Queen’s passing that with ease hitting 15. Queens then set 19 in the second leg, and The Masons rallied well leaving anchorman Joe Bandrowski needing four to win and he did just that to give them a total of 20 and the leg. A set of 15 in the final leg by The Queens was beatable however Masons could not recover from a slow start and fell two dolls short with 13.

Second placed Donnington ‘A’ versus Vikings Sports didn’t play, and the game has been rearranged for next Tuesday.
SECTION 4

Section 4 will not be decided until the final week when the top two clash with leaders Ampleforth Arms whitewashing Vikings Sports ‘B’ 3-0 in the leg scores of 13-9, 17-8, 17-11.

Second place Six Bells ‘B’ had an abysmal night against Headington Con club, who were playing with a player short, losing 2-1 and put an immense dent in their title ambitions. They will need to up their game next week against the leaders. They lost the first two legs 12-13, 12-16 but managed to salvage a point in the final leg 15-10.

Golden Ball had a fine 2-1 win at home to Red Lion Cassington. Setting all three legs they won the first two 16-14, 19-12, however standards dropped in the final leg when they could only set 8. Red Lion seized their chance and hit 13 in reply to claim a point.

White Hart Wolvercote are on a roll and won their second game on the trot by defeating visitors Catherine Wheel 2-1. They set every leg with 8, Catherine Wheel replying with 6-7-18.

The race for top dolls between Kevin Baker (Littlemore B.L. ‘C’) and Luke Purcell (New Club ‘A’) will be decided on the last games.

SIXERS: P.Cassidy (Donnington Club ‘B’) L.Purcell (New Club ‘A’)

BLOBBERS: A.Rowles (Vikings ‘C’) C.Bowers (Red Lion Yarnton) D.Eggleton (Cricketers).

TOP DOLL SCORERS
13: L.Purcell (New Club ‘A’)
12: R.Goodall (White House) F.Sawyer (Littlemore B.L. ‘A’) D.Simms (Ampleforth ‘A’) M.Hewitson (The Swan) I.Sharp (WADs Bar)

TOP LEG SCORE: White House 31
OVER THREE LEGS: White House 75

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